From Influencer to Corporate Executive: Roger Wu's Story of Changing the Building Materials Industry

Roger Wu (吴不可) is a Chinese entrepreneur in the building materials industry who has built his business around social media. He has more than 2.5 million followers across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, including 2.2 million on TikTok alone.

Wu is Co-Founder of George Deco (George Design and Construction Co., Ltd.), a group company based in Foshan, Guangdong, which he joined in April 2025. He credits his audience with driving much of the group's recent growth.

In this interview, he talks about how he got here: from his first job in tile manufacturing, to going independent as an influencer, to joining George Group.

Tell us about your background. What led you into international business, and to bringing Chinese manufacturing to a global audience?

I didn't truly become a social media influencer until 2020. But I first saw how reaching audiences online could help a business during my time at Texing Produce of Art Co., Ltd., a custom and artistic tile manufacturer in Quanzhou. It was my first job after graduating from Huaqiao University in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in Design and Visual Communications.

You can still find some of my early work representing Texing online, such as my old YouTtube channel. That approach contributed significantly to the company's growth, and I was later promoted to Managing Director.

That wasn't the end of the story, but it was when I realised something important: Chinese companies had enormous untapped potential, yet they often had no way of reaching the buyers who needed them.

At the end of 2019, I left Texing and became a freelance influencer. My goal was to connect traditional Chinese factories with Western buyers. I also wanted to build on my relationships with local Chinese entrepreneurs to create my own supply chain.

That network became the foundation for my own company, Roger Import & Export (Guangdong) Co., Ltd., which I founded in 2023 to source household appliances and building materials for my Western audience. That's how I went from employee to entrepreneur, with a large social media audience as my point of difference.

Why did you decide to join George Group, and what is your strategy for its international expansion?

Joining George Group felt like the natural next step. Running my own business was rewarding, but as my audience grew into the millions, I hit a bottleneck. More and more people were asking for one-stop solutions for entire villas, commercial buildings and other large projects.

To meet those requests, I needed a company with real structure: a clear hierarchy and departments that work smoothly together. I couldn't handle sourcing, design, engineering, project integration and supply chain management on my own. Having a large audience was only one piece of the puzzle. I needed the right partners and a fully functioning organisation.

That's where George Group came in. Founded in 2006, it's an established name in Foshan's building materials sector, with an integrated supply chain, large showroom facilities and a track record of delivering whole-project solutions across more than 200 countries.

I connected with the owner, George (Jingfeng Pang, 庞敬烽), and we quickly agreed to join forces. We shared a vision: combine my digital reach with George Group's physical infrastructure and project capability to serve our global audience properly. I joined as Co-Founder in April 2025, which was an exciting step in my career.

You have more than 2.5 million followers across platforms. How does that audience benefit George Group's B2B business?

George Group's marketing and client acquisition no longer rely only on traditional B2B channels like email campaigns and trade shows. I use my platforms to take viewers inside our facilities and showrooms, and to make our manufacturing and quality-control processes transparent.

Social media has also changed who our clients are. Alongside our traditional B2B work, we now sell directly to developers, designers and homeowners around the world.

We're not just selling materials. We're educating and connecting with people directly, and showing them that Chinese manufacturing can deliver high-quality, customised engineering solutions.

Where can readers follow your work?

I share factory tours, behind-the-scenes content and project updates on TikTok and Instagram (@rogerwu_georgedeco), Facebook (George Deco Group) and LinkedIn (Roger Wu). George Group's project portfolio is at georgedeco.com.